Erik Ainge was a member of the New York Jets after he left Tennessee. (AP PHoto)

This was not a good idea, Erik Ainge.

As the Tennessee coaching search continues to get messier and messier, the former Tennessee quarterback exchanged direct messages with Florida Atlantic coach Lane Kiffin. Why? Well, we’re not entirely sure.

And we’re also not entirely sure why Ainge decided to make the conversation public, either. Kiffin, who coached at Tennessee in 2009, has said he has no interest in the UT job. And there’s been no indication that Tennessee has interest in him.

With that out of the way, here’s the conversation.

I don’t want him. He doesn’t want to be back here either. Kiffin is not the answer. I promise. See our convo. No. Thanks. Lane. pic.twitter.com/HLjYDQ13s4

Ainge, who last played QB at Tennessee two years before Kiffin’s arrival and is now a radio host in the state, comes off looking like a trolling fool — and his Twitter ratio of replies to retweets and favorites is certainly not in his favor. Congratulations for not wanting Kiffin, who isn’t leaving another job after a year.

The coach, meanwhile, was making the talk show rounds on Wednesday. Here he is on the Dan Patrick show, where he talked about how good of a motivator Alabama coach Nick Saban is.